How Do I Get Close?
by Final Hikari
Summary: 10/100 of the Genesis Rhapsodos x Minerva 100 Themes. Goddess Minerva descends into the ruins of Midgar to awaken the ex-First Class SOLDIER who sleeps there, fears of the future that awaits him in mind.


Final Hikari: Oh my. LIFE.

Genesis: -.- How many months has it been since you wrote a oneshot for this 100 Themes?

Final Hikari: So many I think people stop expecting any. XD I found a notebook I sought to turn into a Utopia Notebook II but found the start of a oneshot I wrote for the "Breathe Again" theme back in 2008 when we went to Ocean City on vacation back in…October or whenever.

Minerva: …And you haven't posted it _why?_

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Well, I got writer's block with it when we got back. Then I lost the notebook. XD Seriously! I decided how I wanted to finish it but I simply couldn't locate the original draft, and I'm terrible about re-writing or re-typing things. Plus, I knew it wouldn't be much typed it, and I was still pretty hellbent on long oneshots. Then I waited another week because my handwriting was so deplorable back in 2008. XD

Genesis: That's not even an excuse.

Final Hikari: -hides- I'm negligent, what can I say? At least I maintained a 99% average all year in History! I was so close to having a 100% average but I got one wrong on the second to last book test…-sobs-

Minerva: Your readers are _so_ overjoyed.

Genesis: And you dropped out of honors, so you should be succeeding more at a lower difficult.

Final Hikari: -.- -rubs forehead- You two echo each other sarcasm and I don't like it… Now one of you do the disclaimer! Or else I'll get Faize from the Star Ocean section in here to do it!

Genesis: …Who?

Final Hikari: …Faize Sheifa Beleth, from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Genesis: …You expect us to know this person, because why?

Final Hikari: …Just do the damn disclaimer.

Genesis: …

Final Hikari: -pokes-

Genesis: The Final Hikari doesn't down anything from Final Fantasy VII or Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

_-Breathe Again-_

_How Do I Get Close?_

The protective armor boots that shielded the goddess' physical form from simple, mortal afflictions clicked against the stone ground beneath her. She surveyed the area, shaking her head slightly. The cavern had always been left fairly natural, despite being located deep in the heart of Midgar, under the Shin-Ra building.

Or rather, what was left of the once elaborate Shin-Ra building and the plate that had held it up.

_It's ironic…_ She thought as she made her way down the hollowed out hallway to the core of the underground cave. _In the distant past, I remember hearing that humans would strive to make their churches the highest structures, so they could be closer to the sky and the gods they worshipped. It was a senseless notion…yet the Shin-Ra building that sought to destroy the only divine force they knew of was by far the highest man-made structure here._

Minerva couldn't help but have mixed feelings about what was left of Midgar. Though their actions had tormented her for a long time, and even trapped her in a physical body, unable to return to her astral form for yet longer stretches of time, part of her wished it could have ended some other way. The chaotic and destructive ending Midgar met, though fitting, had negative effects on more than just the citizens.

Though human years were practically insignificant to her, the time since disturbances in the Lifestream became critical and recurring felt like a lone time; even to a goddess like herself. The planet had been wracked in pain, as was her consciousness and body.

Nevertheless, she still had to attend to one of her continual responsibilities. Even though he would probably do anything within his means to talk to her, she would depart long before he actually opened his eyes for the first time since refusing the fight for Deepground.

_I suppose it'll be quite a surprise for him to see Midgar and the Shin-Ra building like this. Midgar was still functioning at full efficiency and the plate held it up high above the slums below was still intact last he remembers. Back then, the only cries of restless phantoms came from deep within this place, not the entire city's ruin._

She stepped into a large open area and was surprised to find it illuminated by the full moon, shining high above what remained of the great Mako City. She looked up to the large hole in the ceiling before her gaze dropped to the body sprawled upon a stone platform surrounded by water. Two damaged, chipped swords that failed to sufficiently protect their master jutted out of the ground around him.

_Weiss the Immaculate; the first Tsviet and the arguably the most corrupted. _She thought with a slight frown crossing her normally enigmatic features. _Even free from Hojo's control, with your "brother" at your side, you still choose this fate._

Evidently portions of his vessel or dislodged chunks of the Shin-Ra building had fallen alongside the ex-Tsviet. The gaping hole in the ceiling was far larger than what a single human body could create, no matter how velocity gathered during his fall. _The water in this chamber must be deep enough for it all to have sank to the bottom._

She proceeded to the water's edge and knelt down gracefully, her long, white skirt leaning against the cold stone floor. She placed her index finger on the surface of the water and the ground far below was instantly illuminated.

The stalagmites and dips in the uneven stone were all engulfed by the familiar bright green glow of the Lifestream. There were a surprising amount of debris at the bottom that distracted from the natural appearance of the rock.

In addition to what had recently fallen alongside Weiss to create the large opening above, there were fallen chunks of stone that had once been stalactites that littered the ground. The less than inviting decaying examples of Shin-Ra's discarded human experiments were the most unsettling sight.

Minerva's expression remained unaffected. _The remains of monsters…_

_Did they really just dump them down here? How…primitive…_ She thought silently, mildly disgusted by the skeletal remains that were scattered across stone floor. _Though in comparison to their other atrocities, this is mild…_

She stood and as soon as her finger tip came out of contact with the water's surface, the light disappeared. She turned to her right and walked along the edge to the sphere of circulating water that imprisoned Genesis Rhapsodos.

She stopped when she stood directly before him, surveying his condition. It nestled in a spacious area where both the stalactites and stalagmites came together, leaving enough room for his watery prison but little else. He seemed uninjured, though the changes and repairs to his SOLDIER uniform reflected the damage they'd taken in his last fight.

His head hung limply forward and his eyes were closed. His expression, if it reflected any emotion, seemed forlorn. His arms were stretched out and away from him horizontally, almost as though he was crucified by unseen bonds.

She waved her hand in a quick, vertical motion and a shimmering stair of light materialized above the water. She walked toward it and tiny, glistening spheres of light fell from it. She stepped atop it and another appeared as soon as she continued her ascent.

She stopped a few feet from the outermost sphere of water and reached out, tapping the cold prison gently. An opening just large enough for her to enter formed. She took another step up to be at eye level with the man inside before passing through the door. The smaller sphere that seemed to flow faster was all that separated her from him but she passed through it effortlessly, without getting wet.

She stood before him, slightly surprised by the peaceful aura given off by the soft sound of the water streaming; no other sound penetrated. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the unexpectedly fresh air.

"Genesis…," she trailed off, voice calming though her expression betrayed little kindness. "The time has come for you to breathe again, but are you truly ready to come back to this cruel world of mortals and monsters?"

There was, of course, no response. She waited silently for another long moment before she reached out and gently placed her hand against his cheek. His skin was cool and lifeless to the touch. She lifted his head up gently and brushed the hair that covered his left eye aside with her other hand.

She leaned close to him but hesitated guiltily. _I hope…that this is not the last time we meet. I am unable to grant your wish, but hopefully one day we can speak face to face. Although…you'd probably have to loose your life to make that dream a reality._

Minerva closed her eyes and kissed his cold lips, remaining unmoving for longer than necessary to prolong the peaceful moment. It would be the last either of them experienced for a long time. She pulled back and stepped away from him, backing out of his confinement. She cast him one final saddened glance before turning away.

As soon she stepped out of the spherical prisons, it instantly reformed. The stairs she had summoned were gone and only the platform that remained carried her. It descended slowly and she stood atop the water when she looked down at her hands as her physical form began to fade. Her body became translucent and her perception began to shift to that of her astral form. The small view of the cavern from her physical body's eyes was replaced by an omniscient view and sense of all Midgar.

Her body and every trace of her presence disappeared as a bright, almost electric static began to spark and snap as it spread about the cavern's walls. It was a few lonely moments before the empty, calculating eyes of Genesis Rhapsodos opened for the first time in four years.

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Final Hikari: Yay! Posted! XD

Genesis: When's the next one coming up?

Final Hikari: Um. This year? -sweat drop- I'm not making any promises. I've said time and time again that I'm more for novels.

Genesis: If you're such an accomplished novelist who writes thousands of chapters, writing one hundred themed microscopic chapter-sized oneshots should be a simple task.

Final Hikari: Stop nagging, you sound like my parents. -.- Or Angeal. Besides, it's difficult to think of a hundred unrelated events between a human and goddess! I can chain events together and make it work but the independence has driven me mad! Also, wah. This was five pages on paper. T.T

Genesis: Your readers only see this version. Tough luck.

Final Hikari: -ignores him- Also, I think I happened across a typo worse than one a fellow author I know wrote. Hers' was "feces" instead of "faces," which really made me laugh, but "tit" for "it" is also pretty terrible. DX

Genesis: -snicker- What was that?

Final Hikari: X.X Spare me from repeating it. T.T But at least it was worth while to proofread……………………………….....


End file.
